


Out of Harm's Way

by Aqualegia



Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen, SGA Secret Santa 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-09 02:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5522246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aqualegia/pseuds/Aqualegia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after the Season 5 episode "Enemy at the Gate" They hope to find a way back to Pegasus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out of Harm's Way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JJ1564](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JJ1564/gifts).



John was standing out on the balcony feeling a bit nostalgic; for this was the place, if not the right planet, where he and Elizabeth had discussed going after Sumner and the others who had been swept up by the Wraith on Athos. He had come out here to get a breath of fresh air and to get away from sitting in Richard Woolsey's office whilst the man was reporting to the I.O.C. John stared up at the sky longing to be up there flying, but Woolsey had been whisked away at the end of the first week after they had landed the city on Earth, and he still didn't know when the man would be returning.

He cast his mind back over the six weeks since they had arrived, just in time, to thwart the Wraiths' objective of culling Earth. So much had happened since then. Their first job had been to disable their stargate as it was overriding the older style gate in the S.G.C. Then, towards the end of week one, they had moved the City further away from San Francisco, and its busy shipping lanes, to the southwest of the Farallon Islands where it was deemed unlikely that they would be in the way of any large shipping. Then General O'Neill had provided them with some large high powered boats, which he said were decommissioned Naval Patrol Vessels, so that they could prevent yachts and speedboats from hitting any part of the City.

In the middle of week two had come a really big surprise; the President had arrived on the City, and made a speech thanking them all for coming to Earth's rescue, then had surprised him further by promoting John to Colonel, and presenting him with the Medal of Honor. After the president had left they'd had an impromptu party in the mess hall which went on until the early hours of the morning; although he had slipped away just after midnight because he had been due to attend an early meeting with Rodney, Radek, General O'Neill and Mister Woolsey, regarding the damage incurred when Carson Beckett had brought the City in to land at a very steep angle. They had discussed some of the damage they already knew about, then moved on to the subject of other less obvious damage, how to find it, and did they have enough manpower to do the job. O'Neill had immediately offered to provide engineers from S.G.C. Gate teams who were used to working with Ancient technology; and he would impress upon them that Doctor McKay was in overall charge of the project. Rodney had smiled at O'Neill's offer and said "Thank you." to him.

Over the next few days there had been an influx of engineers from the S.G.C. teams, most of whom had already worked with Rodney and/or Radek: Plus a few of their team members who had volunteered to fetch and carry for their teammates. The following twenty-one days had both its blessings and its nightmares. The blessings were those engineers who followed Rodney's and Radek's orders to the letter: The nightmares were, of course, those who thought they knew better ways of making the repairs which caused unnecessary extra damage not only to the City but to themselves. After the third, and most serious, incident where one of the Engineer's helpers had been killed by an explosion, Rodney had complained to General O'Neill who said he would be beaming in to the Gate Room in about half and hour, bringing Colonel Carter with him.

So, while they had been waiting for Carter and O'Neill to arrive, John had ordered tea and coffee to be brought to the Small conference room, since he was sure that was the best place to hold their meeting.

At the twenty-five minute mark, John had a message from Colonel Ellis warning him of the imminent arrival of his guests; then moments later Carter and O'Neill appeared in the space in front of the Stargate.

John had saluted the senior officers, then quietly suggested that they used the small conference room to ensure complete privacy for their meeting.

General O'Neill, with a grim expression on his face, accepted the offer with a brisk nod, and requested that John join the discussion along with McKay, Zelenka, Colonel Carter and himself.

John had said "Yes, Sir." of course, and followed them up the Gate Room stairs, only stopping momentarily to advise the Gate Techs that they didn't want to be disturbed unless it was an emergency situation. Then, as he was the last person to enter the room, he locked the door to make sure they weren't disturbed.

They all helped themselves to tea, coffee and biscuits before taking their seats around the U-shaped table.

Rodney passed each person a copy of the repair schedule for the team which had caused the explosion. He then took a seat while Radek went to the screen at the front of the room and activated the surveillance tape of the repair crews' meeting. They sat through a slightly speeded up version until they reached the part where Commander Smithson and his team were being briefed on their task. Smithson was obviously not happy with taking instructions from Rodney, but Radek had cut the man off reminding him that they had been looking after this city for five years and if he didn't want to do as he was told they would get the Apollo to beam him back to the S.G.C. This had shut the man up, but his expression was still a 'not happy' one.

When the video was stopped, Colonel Carter asked, "Could I look over the specs before we look at the second video, so that I can see for myself where things went wrong?"

Radek and Rodney both nodded and said, "Yes" in unison which made them grin slightly at each other.

John got to his feet, went over to the refreshment table, and fetched another carafe full of coffee with which he topped up everyone's tall mug. He took the first carafe, which was now empty, from between McKay and Zelenka, putting the partially full one in its place. He put the empty one on the end of the refreshment table before retaking his seat.

A few minutes later Carter put down the papers she had been looking at. She turned towards where Rodney and Zalenka were sitting, and said, "Thank you, I'm ready to see the second video now."

They all had watched the video in complete silence, seeing that Smithson was very obviously ignoring the instructions he'd been given regarding the repair to the control panel. They heard him direct Captain Crane to clip a jumper wire to one that had been partially stripped bare by the damage to the control panel's access door. Smithson turned away to pick up another wire as Crane used the tiny crocodile clip to attach the wire he was holding; as soon as the clip touched the wire there was a massive electrical discharge which only stopped once the Captain fell to the deck, burnt to a crisp.

Seemingly completely unmoved, Smithson dragged the body away, then ordered his other helper, Sergeant Sharpe, to take Crane's place.

Sharpe was already on his knees, vomiting into the sea, and holding on to the pier rails so he didn't fall in. When he had finished emptying his stomach, he got to his feet, shot a venomous look at his commander, and disappeared through the open doorway into Atlantis.

The video cut off at that point, leaving a stunned silence. Then Rodney said, "Sharpe used the closest transporter to get to the Control Center and reported the incident to John, who immediately contacted me to get the videos of the event in case they were 'accidently' deleted. I made DVDs of the two incidents so that you could see the result of ignoring the voice of experience for yourselves."

Into the subsequent silence, John said, "I have to admit that I felt like vomiting myself when I saw such a callous and cruel disregard for killing his subordinate. Which is why I immediately called you Sir."

To which Jack had instantly replied, "I'm glad you did Colonel. I will not let Smithson get away with what is, essentially, murder." He turned his attention to the two scientists. "I want a copy of those two videos as soon as possible."

McKay nodded, "I thought you might, General." He reached into the small case he'd brought with him, and extracted two transparent storage cases, each with a shiny disk inside. "Here are the copies, numbered one and two, for you to take with you." He passed the copies to Carter who passed them on to the General. "I hope you are taking that cold-hearted bastard away with you when you leave."

"Where is he at the moment?" Carter asked, while Jack put the DVD cases into his briefcase.

"We stashed him in the Wraith cell." John replied coldly.

"Good choice!" Carter replied.

John nodded his thanks, then said. "We have Captain Crane's body in our morgue, having managed to stop Smithson from throwing the body into the sea. Sergeant Sharpe is in the infirmary under Carson Beckett's care, getting some fluids in him because of the vomiting. Carson will let me know when he is satisfied that Sharpe is ready to be released."

O'Neill leaned forward, "You mean he actually tried to dispose of the body?"

"Yes he did, but I had a patrol nearby whom I had already contacted to bring Smithson to the holding cell, and they were the ones who actually stopped Smithson, and brought him and Crane to the infirmary where I was talking to Carson. Smithson had a medical, much to his disgust apparently, then he was locked in the Wraith cell, awaiting your arrival. A copy of his 'arrest' is the second video on DVD number two, Sir."

"Excellent, thank you!" The General rose to his feet, then said, "I think it's time we at least took Smithson and Crane back to the S.G.C. I think it would be kinder to transfer Sergeant Sharpe separately, once he's been released from the infirmary."

"Yes, Sir. I think so too." John replied as he moved towards the door and unlocked it to let the others out. Once he was alone, he checked around the room to make sure that nothing had been left behind that might give any clues to the subject of their meeting. Then, as he was exiting the conference room he contacted Alan Turner, who was in overall charge of catering, and told him that their meeting was over and the room was ready to be cleared.

When he had arrived back in the Control Room, he'd seen that Crane's coffin had been brought up from the morgue, and that Carter and O'Neill were making their way down the stairs to the Gate Room's floor. They stopped at either side of the coffin, and O'Neill Spoke to Ellis for a couple of minutes, then they and the coffin were beamed away.

That evening, Rodney had called together all the engineers, and told them exactly what had happened to Captain Crane because of Commander Smithson's arrogance. After McKay's detailed description of the incident, the repairs had been completed without any further complaints from any of the engineers who had thought they knew more than Doctor McKay did.

His mind was brought back to the present when Chuck notified him that groups of people had started to gather in the Control Room ready to be beamed back to the S.G.C. Thanking Chuck for letting him know, he went back inside and stood on the balcony at the top of the stairs, where he was soon joined by Rodney.

When Teyla and Ronon came into the room below, they looked up and waved to their teammates. They had said their goodbyes last night at a private dinner, but it was still heart-wrenching to know that the two Pegasus natives would be returning to their home galaxy without them. The Daedalus would be dropping them off at a stargate near the edge of Pegasus, before going on to complete a highly classified mission.

Lorne made his way up from the floor below. On joining McKay and Sheppard on the balcony he said, "All the people on my list have been checked in and are waiting for transport." 

"Thank you, Major," John replied. He raised his hand to ear and said, "Sheppard to Caldwell, do you read?"

"Caldwell here!" came the reply.

"Teyla, Ronon, and the S.G.C. people are ready for transport."

"Thanks. Beaming them up now."

A few moments later, a bright beam swept over the people below and the floor was empty.

John gave a deep sigh. "I'm going to miss those guys," he murmured.

"So am I," Rodney replied, equally as quietly. "C'mon, let's go get some coffee." He gently pulled John away from the Railing, and they made their way to the Mess where they picked up mugs of coffee and went over to their usual table to gaze out over the sea.

After drinking about half his coffee, John asked, "Did all the repair work get finished?"

"Yes... well, nearly all of it. There's still the repair that Smithson fucked up." Rodney replied morosely. "Radek and I are looking through the schematics to see what else might have been affected by the burnout of that control panel. Mainly because all the wiring, dials and anything else made of metal in there has all been melted into one solid lump; so we are going to have to remake the whole thing from scratch."

"It's a good thing you and Radek excel at that kind of thing. I had a word with O'Neill about the damage, and he said if there are any supplies you need to get the damage fixed to give me a list to courier to him, and he would get them to us asap. If there's anything else I can do to help let me know."

"Thanks. We could be lucky and have most of the stuff available, but if not, then I've got a feeling that it could be quite a long list."

John finished off his coffee. "I guess I'd better get back to the office and get some more paperwork done. Will I see to you at dinner?"

"Yes. Probably both me and Radek."

"Okay, give me a call when you're on your way." With that, John got to his feet and walked out of the Mess having bussed his empty mug on the way.

_______

 

John had almost caught up to date with his paperwork when Rodney called to say that he and Radek were on their way to the Mess. John tidied his desk and locked the classified files away before getting to his feet, and making his way to the Mess Hall, where he met up with Rodney and Radek in the queue. At the table, Rodney sat next to John, with Radek sitting opposite them. During the meal, Rodney said quietly, "We got most the wiring we need when we searched that outpost that was falling apart, but we are short of some expensive metals and some thicker wire." He slipped a piece of paper into John's hand. "That's the list of what we need from O'Neill."

"I'll encrypt the message and get it to him as soon as I can," John replied just as quietly.

After they had finished eating, they sat for a while talking about this and that, as if there was nothing urgent to do. Eventually, John looked at his watch, and said with a grin, "I think it's time for my nightly patrol." He got to his feet and bussed his tray on the way out of the Mess, then made his way back to the Control Room.

He went to his office first, and encrypted the message Rodney had passed to him; then destroyed the piece of paper. After that he checked in with the Control Room Techs, Alan McGuire and Martin Bradford, then made his way out to the West Pier where they had hidden a jumper for him to use to make a sweep around the city just in case anyone was getting too close to them under cover of darkness.

During the first sweep he noticed a group of large motor boats which were closer to the City than he would have liked. He contacted Control and asked them to raise the shield as he was a little worried about some motor boats. He then climbed higher and put the Jumper on autopilot for a few minutes whilst he transmitted the file to O'Neill. A few minutes later he had an acknowledgement of receipt from the General, so he took the Jumper back to the west pier, and asked Major Norman for the lookouts to report if any of the boats he'd seen were getting too close to where they were parked.

Three days after sending the message, John was contacted by Walter Harriman, with a request from General O'Neill to come to the S.G.C. for a meeting. He contacted Lorne to tell him about O'Neill's request for a meeting, and asked his second to take his place in Woolsey's office.

Once that was sorted, he used the Jumper to transport himself to the S.G.C. Colonel Carter was waiting for him when he arrived and escorted him to O'Neill's office.

She knocked on the door, and O'Neill himself opened it and waved John inside. He looked at O'Neill's desk and noticed that there was a white noise generator already switched on. "Take a seat, John." O'Neill said, then slid into his own. "Between Walter, Carter and Mitchell we have managed to get everything on your list, which they are loading on to your ship as we speak. Actually we've upped the quantities somewhat, just in case you find you need to repair something that hasn't gone wrong yet."

"Thank you." John replied sounding relieved. "Rodney and Radek will be very pleased."

O'Neill grinned. "Anything else to report?"

John looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "I had them raise the shield this evening. There are quite a few large motor boats buzzing around. They are pretty much the same size as the motor vessels you gave us to patrol the sea around the city. It may be nothing, but I've just got an itch about them."

"Do you want to move the city further out?"

John thought about it for a couple of minutes, then said, "No, I don't think I do. I'm wondering if they are being controlled by people who shouldn't know we are there, and that it could be their intention to try to get us to move." He sighed. "I must admit that I would really like to take the City back to Pegasus, I just don't feel it's safe here."

O'Neill nodded. "I would rather see you take the City back to Pegasus as well. I know that Woolsey has been trying to get them to agree to your return. Unfortunately, the I.O.C. doesn't see it our way, the majority of them seem to think they are safer with you here."

He looked at his watch then contacted Carter on the radio. He listened for a few minutes, then ended the connection. Turning to John again he said, "The Jumper is packed and ready for you to take back. Is there anything else you want to talk about before you go?"

John shook his head. "Not really. Though I would like to know who those motor boats belong to."

O'Neill nodded. "So would I." He stood up and walked towards the door.

John quickly got to his feet, and shook the hand that Jack extended towards him, then said, "Thanks for everything, Sir."

Jack just grinned, and said as he ushered John out of the door, "Unless anything untoward happens, I'll see you in a couple of weeks for an update."

John saluted him, then made his way back to where he'd left the Jumper. Carter was still there, waiting for him. She gave him the manifest which showed what was in which container. He thanked her for all her hard work, and asked her to thank Walter and Mitchell for him as well, as she left the bay.

After raising the ramp, he made his way to the Pilot's seat and closed the door between himself and the rear compartment, then steared the Jumper towards the shaft's opening, cloaking the Jumper before he was in the open air.

He retraced the journey he'd made earlier in the day, and noted that the strange motor boats were now anchored with riding lights showing their positions. They were still too close to the City for his peace of mind.

When he reached the west pier, Rodney and Radek were waiting for him, and as soon as he let the ramp down, Rodney came inside.

"What took you so long?" McKay asked irritably.

"I spent some time with General O'Neill since ostensibly that was why I was in the Mountain. While I was in O'Neill's office, Walter, Carter and Mitchell took care of the loading of the materials we wanted." He passed the inventory to Rodney. "They obtained considerably more than we asked for in case we need to repair something else at some time. Plus, I'll warn you now, these cases are very heavy and you will need help to move them."

"We've got the anti-grav sleds with us.."

"Yes, I can see that, but you'll need help to get the boxes out of the Jumper and on to them." John replied as he started away from them.

"Aren't you going to stay to help?" Rodney asked.

"No, If I'm late back to the Control Room you'll probably get some people coming out here to see why I'm late, and that's the last thing you want to happen."

Rodney sighed, "Yes, you're right. It would be better if we moved some of these things in the morning anyway. We'll move what we can tonight though."

John turned to face them for a moment. "I'll see you in the morning, after breakfast," he said, then turned and hurried away. Once he was back in the Control Room, he went into the office and made some notes about things he needed to do. He then called Lorne into the office and informed him about the motor boats which seemed to be getting closer to the city. He asked that some sentries be stationed on the piers, and warned that no-one was to be allowed on the city even if any of the boats seemed to be in distress, they were to call the Coastguard to report the problem.

Lorne assured him that he would call the Coastguard and report the problem just as any concerned citizen would.

John laughed at the sally, then said goodnight to Lorne, and the Control Room staff, telling them he was going to his quarters to get some sleep.

______

 

Early the next morning John contacted Rodney and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you with the presents I brought back with me yesterday?"

Rodney's reply was succinct "I'll let you know."

"Okay. Sheppard out!" he replied making his way towards the Mess Hall to get some Breakfast, and some Coffee. He had almost finished eating, when Lorne placed his tray on the other side of the table.

Lorne, after eating his breakfast, had taken a few sips of his coffee, before very quietly saying, "It's a good thing you had the shield raised yesterday. We had an incident in the early hours of this morning. Three of those motor boats started a 'race' which didn't end well for them. With Doctor McKay's help I have confiscated the surveillance tape, and sent a copy of the salient part to you so you can see for yourself what happened from start to finish; and yes, I did get to call the Coastguard." he finished not sounding very happy.

Sheppard grimaced for a moment, then quietly said, "Thank you. I'll watch that as soon as I get back to the office." He then stood up, bussed his tray, and picked up a clean mug and a carafe of coffee before leaving the Mess.

Back in his temporary office, he locked the door and darkened the windows, before opening his laptop and watching the video of the three motor boats smashing themselves into tiny pieces against the City's shield. 

Using the command channel, he spoke to Rodney and asked if it was convenient to visit him in his office.

Rodney said, "Yes."

"I'll be there in a few minutes," John replied, then cut the connection. 

Picking up his laptop, he cleared the windows and unlocked the door, before going over to Chuck, telling him that he was going to see Doctor McKay, and that he wasn't sure how long he was going to be. A few minutes later, he entered Rodney's office and Radek locked the door behind him.

"I take it you've seen the tape from last night's motor boats incident?"

John nodded, "I've just finished watching it. I had a feeling that they were going to be trouble. Which is why I asked one of Techs to raise the shield before I went to visit O'Neill yesterday. Plus, I told the General during our meeting what I had done because those boats were too close to the City for my peace of mind. Anyway, could you ensure that the tape of the incident and an email to the General are for his eyes only?"

Rodney nodded, "Yes, that won't be a problem. I'll send it while you're here, and if he watches it immediately, we should get his reactions straight away." He typed rapidly on his laptop, then stopped after about three minutes. "I've sent it, but it depends on whether he's still in the mountain what time he reads the message."

"Yes, I understand that. If you don't mind me using one of the spare desks in here I can finish off the paperwork that I had to abandon yesterday for my return trip to Cheyenne Mountain."

"Go ahead, you'll probably finish it quicker sitting here, than sitting in Woolsey's office and risking being interrupted." Rodney pointed to a desk nearby." Use that one, it's got a comfortable chair."

"Thanks!" John settled at the desk, and starting working on his paperwork, which he finished fairly quickly as there were no interruptions. When he was done, he leaned back in the chair and asked, "Should I keep the video of the motor boats on here, or would it be better to delete it?"

"Keep it for now," Rodney replied, "You might need to refer to it at some point."

"Mmm, okay." John replied, slouching back in his chair and not sounding very enthusiastic.

Suddenly Rodney's laptop chimed, announcing the arrival of an incoming message. He opened the message and said, "It's from O'Neill. He wants you and I to take a jumper to the warehouse on the mainland, where we'll be picked up and beamed to a meeting with O'Neill, Woolsey and some of the senior members of the I.O.C. He also says, come as you are."

"Now?" John asked.

"Yes, now," Rodney replied, putting his jacket on, then packing his laptop in its carrying case. "I guess we'd better get ready and go."

John handed his laptop to Zelenka. "Could you lock this away until I come back. I really don't need to take it with me, as I know that Rodney is taking his with him."

They left Zelenka in McKay's office and hurried to the Control Room. Once there John collected his jacket from the office whilst Rodney informed the Techs on duty that they were going to meet with O'Neill. They climbed up the stairs to the Jumper Bay and took their usual seats in Jumper One. John asked for the roof to be opened, then flew the cloaked jumper towards the rendezvous.

They found Lieutenant Wheatley waiting for them. John locked down the Jumper; then he and Rodney joined Wheatley, so they could be beamed up; then beamed down to find themselves facing O'Neill and Woolsey.

"Thank you for coming so quickly gentlemen," Woolsey said. "The committee is eager to talk to you. Please follow me."

John and Rodney looked at one another, then dutifully followed O'Neill and Woolsey into a large meeting room.

O'Neill turned to Rodney and said, "Can you set up to show them the problem you encountered yesterday?"

Rodney veered towards the large Plasma screen on the wall. Opening up his bag he took out the laptop and some wires, quickly connecting the laptop to the large screen, then switched the TV on before powering up the laptop. He then turned towards where the committee was sitting, and said, "I think it would be an idea to dim the lights in here, otherwise, because the incident took place at night, you won't be able to see very much."

The lights were quickly lowered, then Rodney started up the video. There was a concerted gasp when it became obvious that the boats were aiming to ram the city, then practically everyone was startled when the three boats exploded against the city's shield.

Into the ensuing silence, O'Neill said, "We were very fortunate that Colonel Sheppard became suspicious of those boats some hours before the attack and ordered the city's shield to be raised, he then spoke to me about them. I started making some enquiries about who they were, but the attack came before I could get any answers."

The lights were slowly brought up, and Rodney packed his gear away, then sat next to John at the table.

"Do you have anything to say about this incident Colonel Sheppard?" Mr. Woolsey asked.

John looked sideways at O'Neill who shrugged, then nodded.

"You probably won't like what I have to say," John said into the silence. "I believe that staying here on Earth is the wrong thing to do. We need to return to the Pegasus Galaxy so that we can keep tabs on what is going on in that Galaxy. We have informants spread throughout the planets there, which is why we were able to get here to take out the hive ship before they could do any damage. Also, we have a better chance of finding more power modules, because sitting on the ocean here is just wasting power."

One of the Women sitting near the Chairman, spoke up. "I believe that we should discuss what Colonel Sheppard has revealed, so that we have a better understanding of the Pegasus Galaxy."

The Chairman banged the small gavel on the block in front of him. "This session is adjourned until tomorrow. I want to thank General O'Neill, Colonel Sheppard and Doctor McKay for being our guests today."

Most of the people around the table then stood up and formed small groups of chattering people. O'Neill walked behind John and Rodney saying quietly, "Let's get out of here." They both got to their feet, and followed him back to the room where they had been beamed in. A few minutes later, and they were standing beside the Jumper with no-one else in sight. John opened the hatch, and went to his normal seat, closely followed by Rodney who pressed the button to close the hatch once he was completely inside.

John got them in the air, and headed towards Atlantis. "Well," he said, "It seems that I gave them something to talk about, even if most of them were pulling sour faces at what I said."

"Since it's the truth, I'm certainly not going to argue. The only thing I really want at the moment is some sleep!" Rodney stated trying not to yawn.

"Me too, Buddy!" John replied, then contacted Atlantis asking for the Jumper bay roof to be opened, then they slid inside and into the correct slot. He powered the Jumper down, then closed it up as he and Rodney walked out of the bay and down the stairs into the Control Room. John informed the Control Techs that they were retiring for the night, then went to their quarters to get some sleep. 

______

 

The next morning, John rolled over in bed, silenced the alarm, and made his way to the bathroom; after using the facilities, he got dressed in his running gear, left his quarters and made his way to the nearest transporter. Once inside, he touched the location for the start of his early morning run. Moments later he was out in the hallway doing his body and leg stretches, before jogging towards the corner which had been deemed 'the start' of the miles long trail which had been mapped out not long after they had taken up residence in Atlantis. He stopped for a moment to stare out of the large window hoping to catch sight of the still unfamiliar view of the California coastline in the distance, but there was still too much fog around to get a clear view. He did a few more leg stretches, then started off on the long run around the towers of Atlantis, his mind mulling over the events since Beckett had flown the City away from Pegasus.

He slowed as he came in sight of the door leading out on to the North Pier. This part of the City had been damaged when they had passed through an asteroid belt when they were fleeing from the Asuran Replicator fleet towards the end of their third year on Atlantis. Once they had arrived on their new planet, they had worked hard to repair the damage, but this particular door needed to be opened gently. As he pushed it open himself, he remembered telling Ronon to treat it gently or McKay would make life very uncomfortable for him. He missed having Ronon running with him, challenging him really hard at times.

He closed the door just as gently behind him, then decided to take a drink from the nearby water fountain. His thirst slaked, he then went on his way towards the narrow bridge which he and Ronon always used to cross over to the other side of the oddly shaped Pier. From the room at the top of the tower behind him, it looked rather like a huge tuning fork.

Just as he reached the junction, to start to cross the bridge, he caught sight of some movement out of the corner of his eye. Stopping, he turned to face the object he had glimpsed through the early morning fog. A few moments later, he realized that he was seeing the bow of a super-tanker heading sraight towards them.

He touched his communicator and said, "Sheppard to Control. Put the shield up immediately, and leave the cloak up." He could hear muttering from the Control Room but no-one answered him.

"This is Colonel Sheppard," he almost shouted this time. "We have a tanker approaching us - Get the damn shield up immediately before the ship hits us!" He heard the beep of a button being pushed. As soon as the shield started to rise in front of him, he spoke again. "Put a message out over the Com-system telling everyone to brace themselves, preferably sitting on the floor and hold on to something solid very tightly; this is going to be a big bang!"

He turned and sprinted away from his vulnerable position until he found a space where he could wedge himself safely and out of harm's way. As he made himself as comfortable as possible he heard the warning from the Control Room being repeated for the second time.

He watched in a kind of fascinated horror as the huge ship got nearer. It was obvious from the height of the bow wave that the ship was moving at a very high speed - and he couldn't help wondering if this was another deliberate attack on the City,

When the ship hit the shield, he was very glad that he was sitting down, otherwise he might have lost his grip on the bars he'd wrapped his arms around.

The bow scraped along the shield in such a way he was convinced that the ship was going to capsize, or the shield give way. Fortunately the shield held, and the ship was sliding along the edge of the City, then it moved away in the direction of the Californian coast. Now the ship was sideways on to him, he could see that the bow was badly buckled in places.

With the tanker now moving out of sight, he decided to abort his morning run and make his way to the Control Room as quickly as possible. Running to the nearest transporter, he arrived back in his temporary office as the senior staff, most still in their nightwear, started to fill the Control Room balcony. He lead the way into his temporary office, then said. "Take a seat and I'll tell you what I know."

He waited until they were all seated inside the room, then said, "I was out on my morning run and had got as far as the North pier, approaching the bridge, when this huge Tanker emerged from the fog, I contacted the Control Room to put the shield back up, and told them to warn you all to brace yourselves, then I found myself somewhere to sit and hold on to something solid until the city stopped vibrating."

"Rodney, would you get me a copy of the tapes from the North Pier. If we hadn't got the shield up in time, we might have lost two piers." At those words everyone went rather pale.

"As my first task I'm going to have to report the incident to O'Neill, which probably means that Rodney and I will be visiting the S.G.C. again. However, there are some things which we urgently need to do. So I hope you won't mind if I assign tasks to some of you while you're here."

There was almost a chorus of "I don't mind," from all around the office.

"Thanks," John said with a smile. 

"Major Lorne, I expect General O'Neill will ask Rodney and I to visit the S.G.C. again. So I need you to take my place in this office while I'm away. We also need to make sure that no-one was badly injured when the tanker hit us."

Lorne nodded, then said, "Yes, Sir. I'll get search parties out to make sure that anyone who is badly hurt gets taken to the infirmary."

John nodded this thanks, then turned back towards McKay. "Rodney, I'd like you to come with me again in case we have to do another show and tell for the I.O.C."

He turned to Doctor Zelenka next. "Radek, this is going to be a big task, but we must make sure that we haven't sprung any leaks, and that the Star Drive, and other essential systems are still working properly. If necessary, we may be able to borrow some experienced help from the S.G.C. as we did when we first arrived."

Radek nodded his acceptance. "I will get engineers to look at everything, Colonel."

"As soon as I'm back, I'll be going over things with Radek," Rodney announced.

John just smiled and nodded. "Okay, I think the first things on the agenda are to go to our quarters and get dressed properly, and then have breakfast. Once I have the video I'll contact the General to arrange another meeting with him. I'm now going to get dressed." He walked out of the office and went back to his quarters. He had a quick shower, then put his uniform on before making his way to the Mess Hall to get some breakfast.

Once he'd eaten, and checked with Rodney that he had the video files of the incident, he contacted General O'Neill on the secure channel, and told him about their latest narrow escape.

Then, leaving Lorne in charge of the City, John and Rodney once again boarded Jumper One and took a ride to Cheyenne Mountain.

When they arrived at the S.G.C. O'Neill, Woolsey, Carter and Jackson were waiting for them. They were taken to the same room as before, and Rodney quickly set up his computer to play the video files he'd retrieved.

When the last scene faded to black, O'Neill said, "I must admit I thought you were exaggerating the size of the ship when you were talking to me earlier."

John grimaced. "We were very lucky that I caught sight of the damn thing in the fog. If we hadn't got the shield up in time, I think we would have suffered major damage to at least two of the piers. I've got engineers scouring the city for any leaks or other equipment that has been damaged. I've left Lorne sitting in my office, and we have some gate teams checking through the roster to make sure that no-one has been seriously hurt. Obviously I won't know the results of the searches until I get back on the city."

"I've spoken to the Chairman of the Committee," Woolsey said, putting his mobile phone back in his pocket. "They want to see the latest attempt at sabotaging the City as soon as possible." 

"We'll go over there next if you like." O'Neill replied. "I think they all need to see this."

Less than twenty minutes later, they were ushered into the same large meeting room as before. Rodney immediately made his way to the plasma screen and attached his computer. When he turned to face the table everyone was already looking at the screen. He started the video and let the pictures speak for themselves.

When the video was finished there was a stunned silence throughout the room.

Eventually it was O'Neill who broke the silence by saying, "That was a magnificent sprint along the pier Sheppard."

"Thanks, Sir. Though I was very motivated to find something I could hold on to." When that comment produced a few chuckles from people around the table, Sheppard and O'Neill grinned at one another.

"Are you often on that pier, Colonel?" The French representative asked.

"I run the course we've laid out every morning, unless something more urgent comes up."

"Do you always run alone?"

"Not always, no. In the first year I had Lieutenant Ford running regularly with me. From year two onwards, my companion has been Ronon Dex, who is back in the Pegasus Galaxy by now. Sometimes, over the years, other people have joined those of us who run regularly."

John looked over at General O'Neill with a raised eyebrow, to which he received a nod in return. He then faced the rest of the room and said, "Since it's obvious to me that they want to destroy the City, does anyone have any ideas about what they might try next; or who our attackers might be?"

McKay let out an angry snort, then said, "Whoever they are, Colonel, they know exactly where the City is located. We are definitely not broadcasting any beacons from the City, I rechecked that after the first attack. Therefore, someone either in the S.G.C. or in the I.O.C. is leaking information to our enemies."

Rodney waited fairly patiently whilst the committee members loudly denied that such a thing could happen. Then, as soon as the noise abated somewhat, he dropped the bombshell he and Sheppard had talked about whilst travelling to the S.G.C.

"You do realize," he said, loudly enough to make himself heard. "That if the city is subjected to many more of this kind of attack, we are not going to have enough power to get the City into space, let alone defend the planet."

Into the silence which followed Rodney's announcement, John said. "We know from talking to General O'Neill that no Z.P.M's have ever been found on a planet in the Milky way in the twelve years they've been sending teams out.. Therefore, I believe it's in your best interest to let us take the City back to Pegasus, so we can continue our fairly successful hunt for them there."

The room remained silent for a while, then the Chairman Alain Oliver said, "General, please would you take your two colleague to the cafeteria while we discuss the Colonel's proposition."

"Of course, Alain," O'Neill replied as he stood up and opened the door beside him. "Come with me gentlemen, I'll buy you some coffee." John and Rodney left the room, followed by O'Neill who closed the door behind them. The General then led them a short way along the corridor before pushing through a swing door which had the word IN painted on it. They each got themselves a mug of coffee and found a corner table where they could sit in comfort and talk, if they wanted to, without being overheard.

They had all finished their coffee, with Rodney contemplating getting another one, when Alain Oliver's aide appeared and asked them to return to the conference room.

Once they had retaken their seats, Oliver picked up a sheet of paper, and said, "Having taken a vote on your proposition, we have decided unanimously to accede to your request to return to the Pegasus Galaxy to carry on with your mission there."

John immediately stood up again, looking very relieved, and said, "Thank you." Both O'Neill and McKay stood up and said, "Thank you." almost at the same time as Sheppard.

Oliver's aide then escorted them out of the conference room and back to the beaming station, where he left them. O'Neill spoke to the Apollo, and they were instantly transferred back to the S.G.C. Where they made their way to O'Neill's office, he sat in the chair behind his desk, and told them to take a seat. "Congratulation gentlemen! You mananged to scare them out of their wits without telling a single lie."

"How soon can we leave?" McKay asked.

"Whenever you're ready," was the prompt reply.

"Is Richard Woolsey returning with us?" Sheppard asked.

"The leadership decision hasn't been resolved yet, so until you hear to the contrary, you're still in charge." O'Neill said.

"Oh Joy!" Sheppard muttered, then pulling himself together, he said, "It's too late to get everything ready for take-off tonight, because we need to make sure that any damage caused by the tanker yesterday is repaired, and all personnel are accounted for. I'll send you an update on our situation later tonight. If it's possible I'd like to be in the air tomorrow night, or the night after at the latest. I've been over the manifest you sent me, and all of our storerooms are completely full, for which we are very grateful."

"We've got all the science department's orders filled as well, so its definitely a big thank you!" McKay said, a huge smile on his face.

O'Neill looked at his watch, then said, you'd better get back to the City before the fog covers everything.

Taking their cue, John and Rodney both stood up, said thank you again, and went back to where they had left the Jumper. The ride back to the city was quiet, and they passed through the already raised shield before the fog had reached the City.

McKay went to talk to Radek and the engineers about the repairs, and John closeted Lorne and himself in the small conference room. John was relieved to hear that everyone had been accounted for and that there were no serious injuries. He then told Lorne to get some rest, and that he would take the remainder of the shift while waiting to hear from Radek and Rodney. He went back to his office and found that Radek and Rodney were already there. Closing the door behind him, he took his seat behind the desk and asked for an update.

Radek looked at his tablet, then said, "Considering the shaking we all took this morning, the City is in fairly good shape. We've tested the integrity all the electrical systems, and only a few wires needed some extra solder. We then tested the engines and made sure that nothing was loose there. All the water systems were tested. The ovens in the kitchen and all the doors in the currently occupied living areas are all okay as well. The Z.P.M's are in their slots correctly and working perfectly. Now, since we made sure that the night shift people weren't disturbed, everyone else needs to get some sleep." Radek got to his feet, and said "Goodnight" over his shoulder as he left the office.

"Since I have nothing left to do, I'm going to wait in my lab for Paul Longdon to arrive, then I'm going to get some sleep as well. Goodnight, John."

"Goodnight, Rodney. I won't be here much longer either, as Major Teldy is due to take over from me in a few minutes." John replied with a grin.

Rodney grinned back, then made his way to the nearest transporter, pleased to know that he should be able to sleep through the night.

The Control Room night shift arrived, including Major Teldy. John was now free to go back to his quarters. Once there he visited the bathroom, then changed into his night clothes and flopped on the bed and was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

John groaned when he was woken up four hours later by Major Teldy, asking him to come to the Control Room as soon as possible. Not bothering to change his clothes, he rushed to the Control Room to find out what the problem was, and Rodney rushed in just a couple of minutes behind him.

"What's going on Major?" Sheppard asked.

Teldy beckoned him over to look at the radar display that Radek had rigged up after the Tanker incident. On the screen he could see dozens of small boats each with an unusually 'hot' signature. Rodney stepped up beside him, and studied the strange readings. Suddenly he stiffened, and pushed John in the direction of the transporter. "Go get in the Chair, and get us in the air asap." he yelled. "Those boats are emitting fission signatures, we need to be out of here now!"

Teldy used the Tannoy system to warm everyone that they needed to get out of the corridors and to stay in their quarters as the City would be taking off soon."

Panting hard, John settled in the chair and went through the start up procedure as quickly as he could. The chair reclined under him, and he was soon totally immersed in the need to get as far away from this part of the planet as soon as possible. With both the shield and cloak still up, he asked the City for as much power as the conduits could safely take, and took the city behind the moon and out towards Mars so that their heat signature would be mostly masked by the stellar radiation.

Meanwhile, Rodney composed a quick message to O'Neill, copied to Sam Carter, about the boats with fissionable material on board that had surrounded them, and their very necessary unscheduled departure from Earth. He included in the message all the data they had collected about the boats while hastily getting ready to leave.

______

 

Sam startled awake when her tablet beeped loudly and she sat up reaching for it automatically. When she read the message, she thought "Oh shit!" and contacted Jack, asking him to meet her in her lab as soon as possible.

Once the door was locked behind them, Sam showed him the message from McKay which had been sent to both of them.

"What does this mean for us?" Jack wanted to know.

"It means that there could be unprotected fissionable material sitting on the sea bed, and that probably some of those bombs exploded when Atlantis lifted off. If they hadn't taken off, and the all the bombs had exploded around them, it would have not only taken out the city, but nearly all of California as well, mostly because of the three Z.P.M'S on the city."

"OH SHIT!" Jack exclaimed.

"That's what I said when I first saw Rodney's message; they did the best thing possible though, and millions of people are alive today who owe their survival to John Sheppard and Rodney McKay."

"We'll need to do a survey of the area to get an idea of how many bombs there are, then get a clean up team organized to dispose of them. I suggest we see if some of the dead suns in this galaxy would be good hosts for some of them.

______

 

When Atlantis reached Pegasus, they stunned their Wraith prisoner named Guide, and left him on a planet with a working stargate, before they settled on a planet, very much like the one they'd hurriedly left to chase the Hive that was intent on culling Earth.

It was already nearing sunset when they came in to land, so they left a skeleton team in the Control Room, and everyone else went to bed.

The next morning, John and Rodney ate breakfast together, then planned out their visit to New, New Athos. They had already worked out that, on this planet, their mid-morning would equate to breakfast time at the Athosian camp, so he and Rodney planned to go visit their friends; leaving Lorne and Teldy in charge of the City. They would be taking a pair of guards with them, and because they had been away for a while, they would also take a Jumper just in case of unexpected surprises. They also made sure they had a some cases of Meals Ready to Eat, in case they were delayed for any reason.

They went through the gate, just after sunrise on the planet, and were soon landing near the Athosian village. Leaving their two guards with the Jumper, they walked through the village and when Teyla spotted them she ran towards them. They did the forehead touching thing which always left both John and Rodney feeling uncomfortable. Then they accompanied her back to her tent, and each accepted a cup of tea.

"Is Ronon not around?" Rodney asked.

Teyla shook her head. "He was getting bored and frustrated here. He said he was going to Belkan because he has friends, and ex-comrades there. So he was sure he could find something to do."

"We'll track him down and take him back to the City. We would welcome you back as well, if you are so inclined..."

"I will think about returning with you."

John grinned, then said, "While you're thinking about it, would you like to help us find Ronon? You do know his friends better than we do."

Teyla smiled, "It would give me something interesting to do. I will pack the belongings of myself and Torren and we will come with you." She disappeared further inside the tent, and they could hear her talking to Torren and to Halling.

Halling came out to greet them, and John explained that they had arrived back in Pegasus the day before, and landed on a different planet from their last home. He also gave Halling their new address in case they needed to seek refuge. For which he was profusely thanked.

Teyla came out carrying her luggage and Torren. John and Rodney shared the task of carrying part of her luggage, and carrying Torren.

They packed her gear into the netting over the bench seats, then set off on their journey to find Ronon. When they exited the gate on Belkan, it was raining, so John decided to fly the Jumper all the way to the village that the Satedans had built for themselves after Kell had been killed.

Once they had landed in the village, John and Teyla went into the Bar where the majority of the Satedans hung out. Most of the clientele just shrugged, when asked if they knew where Ronon could be found. However, the Bartender said that Ronon and his friends had gone to Sateda for some sort of ritual. They thanked him for the information and made their way back to the Jumper, for the next stage of their journey.

Sateda was as barren as ever, but at least the sun was shining. This time they used the Jumper, and Rodney's PDA to see if they could pick up Ronon's locator chip implant. This time they were lucky; they tracked the signal for many miles, before they could see Ronon standing staring in the doorway of a house.

John gently brought the Jumper to rest on the road nearby, and walked up to his friend. "Hi Ronon, what are you staring at so intently?"

Ronon turned and grabbed John in a crushing hug, and then swung him around in a circle, before putting him down again. "When did you get back?"

"Late in the day yesterday. We came looking for Teyla and you as soon as we had eaten breakfast."

"Good!" Ronon grinned at him again. "Come and see what I've found." He pulled John into the building and opened a strong metal door with a key. Inside was a huge collection of Satedan arms, and John was lost for words. Ronon just grinned again, knowing that John coveted his gun. "If we take these back to Atlantis, we will all be much better armed than the Wraith."

John looked back up at Ronon.s face. "How many of these do you think we can get in the Jumper?"

Ronon shrugged. "Back the Jumper up to the door and we will find out."

John nodded, and ran over to their transport. "Ronon has found a cache of Satedan weapons. I'm going to move the Jumper, and then we'll see how many we can cram inside."

They ended up making two trips, to carry their booty, but boy was it worth it. After the second load had been moved to the Armory, they had a big party in the Mess Hall....

....The next morning, most of the inhabitants of Atlantis had a hangover, and a new gun, just like Ronon's in their holsters.

THE END.


End file.
